The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to interference in Wi-Fi networks. Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Multiple access wireless systems may have various topologies. In one topology, known as a wireless wide area network (WWAN) or cellular system, the system includes a number of base stations that collectively provide coverage for a metropolitan or regional geographic area (e.g., cities, national, etc.). Each base station has a coverage range, which may be referred to as the coverage area of the cell. In another topology known as a wireless local area network (WLAN), an access point forms a network for devices within a local coverage area (e.g., building, house, etc.), and may provide connectivity through the access point to other networks (e.g., the Internet, etc.). WLAN networks employing the IEEE 802.11 family of communication standards are widely deployed and used. A particular implementation of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, also known as P2P, is a standard that enables devices to connect easily with each other at Wi-Fi data transfer rates without requiring a dedicated Wi-Fi access point (hard AP). In this technique, a Wi-Fi-Direct enabled device (e.g., a P2P device) can be elected to operate as a soft-AP or Group Owner (GO) for communications with other Wi-Fi devices. In some implementations, the P2P GO can also be used in conjunction with one or more APs to effectively extend the AP(s)'s coverage, adapt to different communication path conditions, and increase throughput of the system.
WLAN systems, such as those employing the IEEE 802.11 family of standards (e.g., Wi-Fi), may use channel sense multiple access (CSMA), in which devices or stations (STA) sense channel conditions prior to accessing the channel. In WLAN systems, access points (AP) may be communicating with several or many other STAs concurrently, and therefore data transfers may be interrupted by periods where the AP is serving other STAs.
In general, wireless communication networks may experience various types of interference, which can degrade network performance. Many approaches have been considered for reducing interference in Wi-Fi networks in particular. Another source of interference in Wi-Fi networks is non-Wi-Fi communications or signals, such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), microwaves, and Bluetooth. Interference from non-Wi-Fi sources also cannot be solved by conventional approaches because such sources do not comply with Wi-Fi deferring rules.